| Author | Message | ||
     Wordshop1 |
Pardon me if my typing is a bit shaky tonight – I just came within a half inch of becoming a very expensive hood ornament on a Dodge Camper Van. But thanks to the XB12R and a suggestion by M1combat here on the XBoard, I’m alive to tell the story. Earlier this month, M1combat suggested in a response to one of my posts that I pick up the Lee Parks book, Total Control, which I did. For the last week, I’ve been going thru the practice routines outlined in the book for two hours every day, and I can say my confidence level and riding abilities on the XB have soared exponentially. So tonight I’m coming home from my 10 Steps to Proper Cornering/Quick Stops practice session. The evening was near perfect, so I decided to toss in a quick ride along the River Road here in Moab. Beautiful ride, beat my best time by almost 7 minutes, the bike was singing opera in perfect pitch. I’m just about to the mouth of the canyon when I come over a rise and up behind a very big Dodge Camper Van, traveling at about 60 mph. I start to roll back to put the proper distance between us when he suddenly slams on his brakes (his brake lights do NOT go on as I find out later they don’t work) moves as if he’s going to turn off the right side of the road – which is not a good move as it drops into the Colorado river about 3 feet from the roadside– then starts to u-turn directly in front of me. Suddenly all the Lee Parks stuff I had been practicing was front and center: I look at the point where I believe I can miss him if I get there first, shift my body, tuck my inside foot, and accelerate into the sharpest left hand turn I’ve ever done at 50 mph. I squirt by the front left bumper of the van so close that my rear tire scuffs on his left front tire. I automatically transition and lean so far back to the right that I touch the peg feeler to the asphalt, crack open the throttle as soon as I can and there I am, still upright, without a scratch 10 yards down the road. The van had pulled back off the road onto a turn off when I came roaring back. I stopped a few yards away – and waited. I was so pissed off I didn’t want to approach the van because I was afraid I’d start swinging. Then the driver gets out and pukes. I figured that was fair justice, so I just waited without saying a word. When he stopped blowing chunks, he said he had missed the turn off, and was really sorry but his brake lights were out and he didn’t know I was behind him. I suggested politely he remove his copulating head from his rectal orifice, then spun out, throwing some dirt and stones on his van as I took off, one hand on the throttle and the other hand lifted in the universal single finger salute. I know for a fact if I had been on the Deuce, I never would have been able to make that move. And if I hadn’t been practicing the tenants of Total Control these last few days, I would now be, at best, in a world of serious hurt. So M1combat, if you are ever anywhere near Moab, UT or Portland, OR, I owe you and your wife or S.O. and your parents and grandparents and every living person in your family dinner at the best restaurant in town. And I will gladly kiss the feet of Lee Parks and Eric Buell on the Main Stage at the Broken Spoke in Sturgis this year to show my gratitude. Thanx again, M1combat. Steve H | ||
| Daveinm |
I think I'll order that book tomorrow  | ||
| M1combat |
Sheesh... Maybe I should practice the techniques in that book a bit more myself eh? I'm glad you're OK. I drink Bass and I'll buy you one too . | ||
| Darthane |
Kiss your wife, hug your kids, etc. extra tonight. Quick thinking and glad you're all right! Bass Pale Ale...good stuff. | ||
| 2k4xb12 |
I think I'll order that book tomorrow I just did...  edited by 2k4xb12 on May 12, 2004 | ||
| M1combat |
England's first trademark . | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Thank God you're OK. I just completed the experienced riders course and like you I desire as much knowledge that might some day save my hiney as I can get. I think a copy of that book is in order for me too! Never stop learning, I have but begun... | ||
| Bomber |
learning = living! good for you, Bud . . . .. . keep up the search for knowledge, and keep practicing skills . . . . | ||
| Boulderbiker |
Whoa.... Way to go bro, glad to hear first off you're ok, second that you've been taking this so seriously about honing your skills, anything less and like you said you woulda been a hood ornament. Keep on honing. I know I'm always thinking about emergency situations like that and trying to prepare myself mentally and skills-wise. I think I'm getting the book too. And of course, thank you Erik, for making a bike capable of such a manouver! | ||
| Prof_stack |
Steve, good thing you practiced the maneuvers beforehand. Most of us never do that. Even so, you were fortunate to get out of it without a scrape (you or the bike). Your heart rate must have been pretty high afterwards. Non-functioning brake lights!!! Bah! Not to throw cold water on this, but what was the (suggested or max) posted speed on the rise that you described? Your situation reminds me of what Motorcycle Consumer News does every issue when they relay an incident (usually taken from a real example) that occured and the outcome and what the rider might have done differently. | ||
| Fullpower |
glad you made it through that one. i will start practicing extreme evasion techniques. i hit a stopped-no brake lights in the middle of the road on sportster a couple years ago. left a 99 foot pair of skid marks first. all the pins are out of my foot, but i limp a little bit. i thik the buell will give me a bit more margin, if i learn to use it properly. cheers. dean | ||
| Wordshop1 |
The posted speed on the area of the road is 55, then it drops to 45 about 140 yards after you crest the rise as it sweeps into a nice long right hander. I was running at about 63 mph. slowing to about 60, as I always try to stay within what I feel are the braking comfort levels and situationals - viewable area, weather, road conditions, etc. I would have been just fine if the guy in the van had not done the kamikazee stop and very illegal u-turn, as the road is marked with double yellow lines where the incident occured. But that is not to say that on this ride I did not test the terminal velocity of the XB12R. There is a section of the road where you can see clearly for over a mile, straight as an arrow and very good surface. And yes, we did stray into the land of the triple digits... But I am going to have to consider the fact that because of the abilities of the XB, I can ride my favorite roads at much higher speeds and feel completely comfortable and well within the control limits. In fact, I have recently found myself sweeping joyfully thru some oft-ridden twisties, only to look down and discover I am actually running 15 to 20 percent faster than ever before, and I could have easily punched it up higher without really feeling I was on the edge. This is an unexpected symptom of the XB effect. and one I'm going to have to ponder carefully. Rode with a guy who a few years back bought a Suzuki Hayabusa -- said it would do 180 mph and had dynoed at 159 rwhp. He sold it after just 3 months. Told me the reason was simple -- the bike made him too fast, and he was getting addicted to the rush. He said he actually had to force himself NOT to speed in almost every situation, Now I know what he meant... | ||
| Jasonxb12s |
I've read the book as well..It's a good read and puts all aspects of sport riding into perspective, including concentration and attitude (Get the ---- off the road ahole). Highly recommended. | ||
| Southernmarine |
Told my wife about this and the book, she's ordering it for me. She's in some bookclub and found some other books that I think she ordered for me. (Dangit woman, order the Red Dino Ranger suit also). Glad to hear you're okay Word and thanks for sharing the story, makes me want to practice more. | ||
| Daveinm |
I just got the books. I ordered 'em off of Amazon yesterday. I got "Total Control" by Lee Parks (the one Word was talking about) and "Sport Riding Techniques" by Nick Ienatsch. Amazon recommended the second one when I went to by "Total Control"...call me an impulse buyer I figured it couldn't hurt to read both. | ||
| Southernmarine |
Can't wait to get my copy and start reading. I read something when I had my first bike, '83 Suzuki GS 750. Can't remember the name, but I learned a lot then and I'm eager to start refreshing and learning more. | ||
| Cro13 |
I finally got my copy last night I’m about half way through and am completely blown away by what I don’t know. I mean stuff that I really thought I had a good handle on. Thanks for the heads up on this book. Carter 03 XB9R | ||
| Southernmarine |
My copy finally came in the mail today. New material to read, study, and of course I have to put it to practice. Again, thanks for the info on this book. |
